# Kevin Hagen

Kevin Hagen (April 3, 1928 – July 9, 2005) was an American actor best known for his role as Dr. Hiram Baker on NBC's TV series Little House on the Prairie.

## Early life

Hagen was born in Chicago, Illinois, to professional ballroom dancers, Haakon Olaf Hagen and Marvel Lucile Wadsworth. After his father deserted the family, Hagen was raised by his mother, grandmother, and aunts. As a 15-year-old, he relocated to Portland, Oregon, where one of his aunts had taken a teaching job.
Hagen attended Portland's Jefferson High School. His family returned to Chicago, and he attended Oregon State University in Corvallis and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, from which he received a degree in international relations.

## Acting roles

Hagen's first regular role on a series was in 1958 playing John Colton, the city administrator of New Orleans in the CBS Western Yancy Derringer.
On April 29, 1962, Hagen was cast in the episode "Cort" of Lawman.
Hagen guest-starred on Gunsmoke, The Big Valley, Bonanza, Laramie, Have Gun - Will Travel, Mannix, The Time Tunnel, and Perry Mason. He made three appearances on Mason. In 1958 he played Sgt. Burke in "The Case of the Sardonic Sergeant"; in (1965) he played murderer Jacob Leonard in "The Case of the Gambling Lady", and Samuel Carleton in "The Case of the Fugitive Fraulein." Hagan appeared as Inspector Dobbs Kobick in nine episodes of Land of the Giants from 1968 to 1970.
Other appearances included Tales of Wells Fargo, The Untouchables, Bat Masterson, Riverboat, The High Chapparal, Wagon Train (S1 E21 "The Annie MacGregor Story" 1958 and S8 E25 “The Silver Lady” 1965), Outlaws, Straightaway, GE True, Hawaiian Eye, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Twilight Zone, Daniel Boone, Blue Light, Mission: Impossible, Rawhide, 77 Sunset Strip, M*A*S*H, The Rifleman (as Billy St.John in S2 E31 "The Prodigal" 1960), Lancer, The Virginian, The Guns of Will Sonnett, The Cowboys, Lost in Space, The Silent Force, Sara, Quincy, M.E., Simon and Simon, and Knots Landing.
Hagen played a Confederate renegade who kills James Stewart's son and daughter-in-law in the 1965 film Shenandoah. His most famous role was Doc Baker on Little House on the Prairie.

## Personal life

In 1992, Hagen moved to Grants Pass in southwestern Oregon where he performed in concerts, dinner theaters, and on stage in Medford, Ashland, and Grants Pass, including the one-man show A Playful Dose of Prairie Wisdom.
In 2004, Hagen was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He died on July 9, 2005, at his home in Grants Pass. Hagen was survived by his son, Kristopher, and his wife, Jan, whom he married in 1993.

## Filmography

| 1957 | The Tales of Wells Fargo | Mitt | Credited |
| 1958 | The Light in the Forest | Fiddler | Uncredited |
| 1958 | Gunsmoke in Tucson | Clem Haney | |
| 1958 | Gunsmoke | Bill Jennings | |
| 1959 | Gunsmoke | Coney Thorn | Episode: Love of A Woman |
| 1959 | Pork Chop Hill | Corporal Kissell | |
| 1960 | The Twilight Zone | Captain James Webber | Episode "Elegy" (S1E20) |
| 1961 | The Untouchables | "Swede" Kelso | Episode "Stranglehold" |
| 1961 | Straightaway | Frazer | Episode "The Stranger" |
| 1962 | Maverick | Justin Radcliffe | Episode "One of Our Trains is Missing" (S5E13) |
| 1962 | Gunsmoke | Bowman | “Wagon Girls” (S7E27) |
| 1962 | Rider on a Dead Horse | Jake Fry | |
| 1963 | The Virginian | Oscar Swenson | Episode "Run Away Home" |
| 1963 | The Man from Galveston | John Dillard | |
| 1964 | Rio Conchos | "Blondebeard" | |
| 1964 | Gunsmoke | Emmett Ginnis | Episode “No Hands” (S9E19) |
| 1965 | Shenandoah | Mule, Rebel Deserter | Daniel Boone (Tv show) John Dobson |
| 1966 | Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV series) | Holden | Episode'"The Shape Of Doom"'(S2E20) |
| 1967 | The Ride to Hangman's Tree | Prisoner | Uncredited |
| 1967 | The Last Challenge | Frank Garrison | |
| 1967 | The High Chaparral | Tanner | Episode "Shadows on the Land" |
| 1967 | The Time Tunnel | Sgt. Maddox | Episode "The Death Merchant" |
| 1968-1970 | Land of the Giants | Inspector Dobbs Kobick | 9 episodes |
| 1968 | Big Valley | Unknown | Episode The Long Ride |
| 1968 | Mission: Impossible | David Webster | Episode "The Condemned" |
| 1969 | The Learning Tree | Tim "Doc" Cravens | |
| 1973 | Gentle Savage | Ken Shaeffer | |
| 1974-1984 | Little House on the Prairie | Hiram "Doc" Baker | 113 episodes + 3 TV movies |
| 1978 | Quincy, M.E. | Dr. Dale Albers | Episode: A Night to Raise the Dead |
| 1978 | M*A*S*H | Major Goss | S7E2 - Peace on Us |
| 1980 | The Hunter | Poker Player #2 | |
| 1986 | Power | Cop | |
| 1990 | The Ambulance | Cop At Stables | (final film role) |
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